Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of electronic communications. More particularly, the invention relates to sharing contact information across applications such as mobile telephones and the Internet.
Related Art
Many existing technologies use ENUM or ENUM-like mechanisms for resolving telephone numbers into the URIs that identify network services. Many systems also enable portability of contact books, i.e., allowing a user to transfer a list of contacts from one computer to another, or synchronizing between mobile and desktop systems, or allowing a user to purchase a new mobile device and then to download or otherwise transfer a contact book from the old device. There are also conventional systems that use reciprocal authorization. For example, some instant messaging systems enable two parties to identify themselves as “buddies”, who are then able to detect each other's presence, or online status, and to send messages to one another.
However, these conventional systems primarily address situations in which contact information is being transferred between devices controlled by a single user. In the instant messaging example, although two users are involved, reciprocal authorization is required, and the functionality is relatively limited. Accordingly, there is a need for a capability to share contact information between multiple users across applications simply and efficiently.